THE II ERE ING. 135 



than 150 species. These fishes are widely distributed in all seas, especially on coasts, and many of the 

 species enter rivers. In all of them the head is naked and the body covered with scales ; the maxillary 

 bones are formed of three pieces, which are sometimes movable, and constitute the lateral parts of the 

 jaws, the pre-maxillaries forming the middle part in front. The stomach is furnished with a pouch, and 

 there are numerous pyloric appendages. The pseudobranchii are large, except in one genus, 

 Megal ops, where they are rudimentary or absent. In the first group, termed Engraulina, the pre- 

 maxillary bone is remarkably small and firmly united to the maxillary ; the upper jaw projects, and 

 the mouth is wide. The best known member of this group is 



THE ANCHOVY.* 



This is a fish with an elongated body and pointed snout, which projects well beyond the lower jaw. 

 The teeth in the maxillary bone are very small, and there are teeth on the vomer, palatine bones, and 

 pterygoids. The abdomen is rounded, and, like the sides of the body, silvery. A black stripe divides 

 the colour of the sides from the dark tint of the back. The tail is forked. The species is widely 

 distributed on the European coasts, and especially all through the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It 

 is met with in the English Channel, and has been taken in the Thames and at Yarmouth. It occa- 

 sionally visits Norway and the Baltic and Davis Straits. A vai-iety of this fish ranges into the South 

 Pacific, being taken in Tasmania and New Zealand. The greatest length of the Anchovy is eight 

 inches. Most of the Anchovies consumed in England come preserved in oil or salt and water, and 

 they form the principal, though not always sole, ingredient in anchovy sauce. They are taken in 

 immense numbers on the coasts of Spain, France, and Portugal from May to July, when the fish has 

 come into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, to which it is believed to return after depositing its 

 spawn. Fishing is carried on at night, when the fish are attracted by lights, and then the seine- 

 net is spread round the spot where they have congregated. Couch is of opinion that a sufficient 

 quantity of Anchovies might be taken in British waters to supply the demand in England if the 

 fishing were carried on in a proper way. Several species of the genus are taken in the rivers of 

 South America, but the genus is best represented in the "West Indies and adjacent coast, and in the 

 East Indian region. Forty-three species of Anchovies are known. The second group of the Clupeidse 

 is termed Chatoessina. It has the narrow mouth toothless and the abdomen serrated. The species 

 occur on the coast and rivers of India, China, Australia, and North and Central America. 



The third group, Clupeina, has no conspicuous difference in the length of the jaws, and the 

 abdomen is serrated. It includes a multitude of species chiefly referable to the genus Clupea. They 

 inhabit the shores of every part of the world, and many species are found in rivers. 



THE HERRING.f 



This species is widely distributed in the North Atlantic, both on the European and American 

 shores, and extends along the northern coast of Asia. Herrings have been found plentifully in 

 Delaware Bay, and occur both in the Black Sea and, according to some writers, in the 

 Caspian, though the latter specimens are probably the well-known Clupea caspia, 

 which is limited to the Caspian, and is intermediate between the Herrings and the 

 Shads. Large examples of Herring may be fifteen inches long. The fish is too well 

 known to need a detailed description. The accompanying figure shows the spinous 

 processes and ribs (pi) of this fish. There are about twenty pyloric appendages to -ni a j 

 the stomach. It feeds chiefly on the more minute Crustacea, but many kinds of young 

 fishes have been found in its stomach. In the Outer Hebrides, which is one of the 

 great fishing stations for the Herring, the fishery is forbidden by law before the 20th 

 of May : but in the Shetland Isles the fish do not commonly appear in any number 

 till July. On the east of Scotland they abound in August, September, and October. 

 In the West of England they are usually plentiful in October and November, but in 



.. ..,,., VERTEBKA Of HEU- 



some years appear earlier or continue later. Nothing certain is known ot the RiyGi ( A j ter o M - e >i.) 

 cause of the migration of the Herring, and from time to time it changes its course, so pi, R ll) ; j*^.M>pemingc 

 that many years may elapse without its ever being seen on coasts which it formerly 

 frequented. The numbers taken, however, are almost incalculable. In Scotland alone half a million of 

 * Engravlis encrasicholus. t Clupea harensjus. 



